A mother is accusing a Chuck E. Cheese mascot of racial discrimination on social media, claiming the mascot “purposely” ignored her black daughter.
The mother, Natyana Muhammad, posted a video on Sunday of the mouse mascot high-fiving children standing on a stage at a location in Wayne, New Jersey, while appearing to ignore her two-year-old daughter, who was not on the stage, as she gestured for a high-five after dancing around the mascot beforehand.
“On July 30 at Chuck E Cheese in Wayne, NJ, my 2yo was racially discriminated against,” Muhammad claimed on Twitter. “As you can see, he gives all of the [white] kids [high-fives] & PURPOSELY ignored my black baby. When confronted, he ignored me as well. The manager, Angie Valasquez, made excuses for him.”
The tweet has received over 80,000 likes and over 29,000 retweets as of Tuesday.
The mother then accused the manager of being dismissive of her complaints.
“Saying she’s ‘sorry I feel that way’ but he didn’t see her, even after showing her the PROOF in the video,” Muhammad wrote. “Please make this go viral like y’all did with that ‘co-wife’ tweet! This is getting out of hand!!!”
Muhammad told WABC that the management of the restaurant arranged to have the mascot take a picture with her daughter following her complaints, but she was also displeased by that gesture, which she shared on Twitter.
Some Twitter users suggested that the mascot may not have seen her daughter through the headpiece, while others mentioned that the race or ethnicity of the person behind the costume is unknown.
The mother implied to one Twitter user that the race or ethnicity of the person behind the mascot who allegedly snubbed her daughter would not matter to her.
Chuck E. Cheese released a statement regarding the incident, per WABC:
Chuck E. Cheese is saddened when any family or child has a less than perfect experience. We want to thank the family who brought this to our attention at our Wayne, NJ location and for giving the onsite manager an opportunity to apologize and address their concerns in person. As home to millions of families and kids every year that celebrate the big and small milestones, including fun, our goal is to create an inclusive experience for children and parents of all ages, races, ethnicities, religious backgrounds, and learning differences. Our mission is to provide a fun and a safe place Where A Kid Can Be A Kid, and all cast members are trained to ensure that we live up to this promise.
Muhammad alluded that she may “expeditiously” take the children’s restaurant chain to court.
Recently, two different viral videos of separate incidences showed Sesame Street characters seemingly snubbing black children gesturing for high-fives at Sesame Place theme park in Pennsylvania in July. A father from one of those incidences is suing the park for $25 million for allegedly ignoring his daughter, the New York Post reported.
You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.